Anise is an annual herb that grows 0.3 to 0.6 m and is cultivated widely throughout the world. The flowers are yellow, compound umbels and its leaves are feather shaped. The greenish-brown, ridged seeds are used for food or the drug. They are harvested when ripe in autumn.
--Bert. Allspice is the dried fruit of the evergreen myrtle plant Pimenta Dioica. It gets its name from the fact that it tastes, as you noticed, like cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The fruit is picked green and dried, usually in the sun, undergoing a color change to brown.
Allspice is available whole or ground. Sometimes the whole berry will be called âpimentoâ. Bouquet: pungent and aromatic, like a combination of nutmeg, clove, ginger and cinnamon. Flavour: warm and sweetly pungent like the combination described above with peppery overtones.